Federal Reports

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This statutory report presents the activities and accomplishments of the OIG from October 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025. The audits, investigations, and related work highlighted in the report are products of our mission to identify and stop fraud, waste, and abuse; and promote accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness through our oversight of the Department’s programs and operations.

Why We Did This Report

Under the provisions of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-452), as amended, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General reports to the Congress semiannually on its activities. 

Summary

This report summarizes EPA Office of Inspector General work and accomplishments from October 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025.

This report summarizes the oversight work performed by EAC OIG during the 6-month period ended March 31, 2025. 

The Fiduciary Program within the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) was established to protect beneficiaries who are unable to manage their VA benefits by appointing and overseeing fiduciaries—individuals or legal entities charged with stewarding the funds on behalf of beneficiaries for their well-being. VA-appointed fiduciaries can be removed and barred from future service if they are found to have misused or misappropriated benefits, been convicted of a qualifying felony offense, or knowingly violated or refused to comply with VA regulations. Staff are required to flag these barred fiduciaries in VBA’s electronic system to prevent a reappointment. The OIG conducted this review to determine whether VBA’s oversight ensures individuals and entities barred from serving as a VA fiduciary are identified and flagged.

When fiduciaries were removed for a reason that would constitute a bar to future service, the OIG found that staff did not flag them in 88 of 129 sampled cases, or 68 percent of the time. This occurred because the Fiduciary Program Manual lacked clear procedures about when the flag should be placed and by whom. Unclear guidance in the manual also led to inadequate staff training and insufficient oversight. Training did not address use of the flag or its purpose in protecting vulnerable beneficiaries, and checklists used for the quality assurance process had no specific questions or error descriptions to confirm the flag was properly applied.

Failure to properly flag barred fiduciaries increases the risk that they will be reappointed. The OIG made three recommendations to the under secretary for benefits, including updating the program’s manual to specify when a removed fiduciary should be flagged, developing and providing training about updated manual procedures regarding flagging, and updating the quality review process.

The audit objectives were to determine whether program funds were managed in accordance with the ARC and Federal grant requirements.